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Review: Ys Book I & II

As the ShackReviews database over at Shacknews doesn't go back past the 32-bit era, I've decided to post my review of Ys Book I & II for the Turbo Grafx CD/TurboDuo here. So read on for the review in its entirety.

Despite being one of the very first CD-based console games, Falcom's Ys Book I & II has always been referred to with the same sort of reverence as Final Fantasy VI, Panzer Dragoon Saga and other legendary console RPGs. Considering that most of those first CD games were FMV-laden cheese fests, this always seemed surprising, and Ys has long been on my list of classic games that I wanted to get my hands on. When I recently traded with a Shacknews reader for a fully functional TurboDuo system, the fact that the package included Ys was just icing on the cake, and I eagerly jumped right into it.

First, a bit more background on the game. Ys isn't just a CD-based console RPG, it's actually a combined remake of two 8-bit era games, which were released for both the NES and Sega Master System systems here and in Japan. As a result, Ys carries the unique distinction of being a combination first generation CD-ROM game and a first generation console RPG. This odd duality is clear from the outset, as the opening sequence features anime-style graphics that are a little reminiscent of the ones in the original Phantasy Star, combined with the full spoken voice of a narrator. This intro sets up the world, and we're told of the wondrous land of Ys (which is pronounced "ease" by the way, not "whys") which mysteriously vanished long ago. And with that, the game begins.

In the game (or games, really, since it's two put back-to-back) you take the role of Adol, upon whom the burden of saving the people of two worlds eventually falls. The game unfolds in a linear but leisurely manner, with the same sort of simplicity as is found in other first generation RPGs like the original Final Fantasy. You're given a single task, such as "save the girl" or "get the book" and pointed in the right direction, and off you go. This gets a bit more complicated in the second game, but it's still just as linear.

The focal point of any console RPG is its combat system, and the one in Ys is very fast paced and quite unique. Instead of using a turn-based system like Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest (AKA Dragon Warrior outside of Japan), combat in Ys is entirely real-time and super-fast. In outside areas and in dungeons, enemies zip up and down, and you fight them by literally walking right into them. If it's a hit they lose damage. If it's a miss, you hear a "ping", and they can hit you by walking directly into you. Like any RPG, you gain experience and money by defeating enemies. As encounters aren't random, as they are in Final Fantasy, it's not too difficult to completely avoid confrontation in open areas, but at least in the first game, that's not too necessary. Once you've gained a couple of levels, most enemies you encounter become fairly easy to defeat, and even though they spawn infinitely you can run right through them with ease.

Ys is a game that features a fairly large number of boss battles. These range from the super-simplistic to mildly challenging, to somewhat frustrating, but they're all quite beatable. One thing I noticed is that if I was having an extremely difficult time with a particular boss, it was a good idea to go off and gain a bit more experience. One or two levels later that same boss became much, much more manageable. This was especially true for the game's final boss, who at level 60 was really challenging, but at 62 was a lot easier to deal with -- although still no walk in the park.

Ys features a pretty simplistic inventory and equipment system. You can only have one of any individual item, which means you can only carry one herb to restore your health at any given time. Fortunately your health will automatically creep back up in certain areas outside dungeons, so if you get really low you can just backtrack. As for equipment, there are a couple of swords, shields and armors that you can buy in each game, but the really strong ones have to be found in dungeons. The right equipment can make a huge difference in the game's numerous boss battles, so it's always a good idea to scour every area until you're sure you've got everything. Specialty items can be equipped in the inventory screen, and these can be used to show an item to another character, use a specific item at a required point, and so on. This is mostly done in the second game.

The story in Ys is primarily moved forward through text conversations with the various characters in the game, although certain key dialogues are spoken. The acting in these is a definite mixed bag. The cast is by and large pretty bad, and the female voices in particular have a tenDENcy to overEMphaSIZE rANdOM wORds aND pHRAses, and a general perkiness I found to be a bit annoying. But there are a couple of exceptions, most notably the game's Super Evil Big Bad Boss Guy, who was clearly voiced by an experienced voiceover actor and comes across as suitably evil, in that cartoon bad guy kind of way.

The gameplay in Ys is quite good, and you do care for the characters (much more so than your generic first generation console RPG), but the really special thing about Ys Book I & II is the music. The music here is incredible...it's not orchestrated, but it does run directly off the CD in redbook audio, and is filled with memorable tunes. One of the real joys of the game is that most every new area has its own score, making the act of exploration into something of a musical journey.

A great deal of the gameplay in both games in Ys is spent in the various dungeons, a couple of which were really starting to get dull there towards the end, especially when I had to keep backtracking from one place to the next in order to complete an objective. But it's never too bad, and the great soundtrack makes the whole dungeon crawl much, much easier to take. Although it doesn't have a gameplay counter, I'd say I probably put in a good 15 hours into Ys Book I & II. For a first generation console RPG, that's pretty long. The second game is at least twice as long as the first, and it's much more involving as a result, and the first game feels a lot like a prologue to the events that come later.

Ys Book I & II is a great, great game, and a must-have for fans of console RPGs, especially the early ones like those recently released in Final Fantasy Origins or the Game Boy Dragon Warrior collections. These games have been remade several more times in Japan, most recently as Ys Eternal Story for the PS2. Sadly, none of those remakes have ever come out here, and Ys IV - VI have never been released outside of Japan (Ys III came out here for the Turbo CD not too long after Book I & II, although that's an action game, not an RPG). I do hope at the very least Ys Eternal Story comes out in this country, as these are great games that deserve the major release they never had. But regardless of that, Ys Book I & II is a great, great game, and if you can get your hands on a Turbo CD or TurboDuo system, this is the game you want to make sure you own.

Posted by jason at September 30, 2003 01:22 PM | TrackBack | Read more: Games , Reviews